Amalgamator.



No. 642,202. Patented. lan. 30, |906. J. L. BBADBURY.

AMALGAMATOR.

(Application Bled Apr. 10, 1899.)

l 1 lll/lll!! l A r* pululan/1.1111116, Il', jy," E 'Il eo usuallyflowing into streams.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN lL. BRADBURY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,202, dated January30, 1900.

Application tiled April 10, 1899. Serial No. 712,519. (No model.)

To al?, whom it may con/corio.-

Be it known that I, JOHN L. BRADBURY, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAmalgamators; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inamalgamators, which consist in the arrangement of parts and details ofconstruction, as will be hereinafter fully set forth in the drawings anddescribed and pointed out in the specification.

The present invention is more especially designed for use in connectionwith the recovery of the fine particles of gold which at present escapefrom the ore-concentratorwith the tailings and are carried away andlost, To save as much as possible, it is usual, before permitting nalescape of thepulp, slime, or tailings, to cause the pulp, slime, ortailings discharged from the concentrator to flow or pass over a blanketof rubber or canvas placed or located at the rear thereof and below thesame. However, a quantity of the gold carried by the tailings, pulp, orslime is so fine and light that the body of water passed over theblanket 3o in order to spread and separate the slime or tailings washesthe same od of the blanket and carries the gold down with the stream orbody of escaping water. It is mainly this class of material which Ipropose to treat by the present invention; and the object of theinvention is to so arrange the amalgamator that the pulp, slime, ortailings may be treated within a closed rotating vessel provided withfixed breaker-arms, which serve to thoroughiy separate and scatter thequicksilver fed in with the pulp, slime, or tailings in order that thesame may be brought into contact with the particles of gold freed fromthe base material during the rotation of the vessel, and thus catch orpick up the particles of gold liberated during the treatment of th pulp,slime, or tailings.

In order to comprehend the invention, reference must be had to theaccompanying 5o sheet of drawings, forming a part of this application,wherein- Figure l is a side View in elevation of the amalgamator. Fig. 2is an end view in elevation of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view of the receiver or separating vessel; and Fig. 1i is across-sectional view taken on line :c Fig. 3. l

In the drawings, the letter A is used to indicate any suitable frame forthe amalgamator, within which frame is suspended and works the receivingvessel A. This receiving vessel is preferably a four-sided one andconstructed entirely of Wood, and is supported within the frame A bymeans of the driveshaft B, which passes therethrough, said shaft workingin bearings a., secured to the frame A. One end of the said shaftprojects a distance beyond the frame and has secured thereon a gear A2,which meshes with a pinion A3, mounted upon an auxiliary shaft A4, whichhas secured thereon the fast and loose pulley B B2, by means of whichmotion or rotation is imparted to the shaft -B through the medium of thebelt driven from any suitable machinery. y

The sides and ends C of the receiving vessel are firmly united by thebolts a passing therethrough, and each end of the said vessel isstrengthened by the metallic end plates C2, which plates are cast withthe flange h. These plates t against the outer face of the ends or headsC and within the projecting end h of the vessels sides and are unitedthereto by means of the bolts b2, which pass through the projecting endsofthe vessel and flanges b of the end plates. Each end plate is providedwith a hub d, through which thc drive-shaft passes and to which it isfirmly secured by the pins or keysd'. These hubs serve as bearings forthe said shaft and rclieve the wooden ends or heads C of the strainswhich otherwise would be placed thereon during the Working of theamalgamator.

It is essential that no metal be exposed Within the machine, as iteffects the treatment of the ore and prevents the separated or freedmaterial amalgamating perfectly, and for this reason the metallicdrive-shaft within the receiving vessel is inclosed by, preferably, awooded sleeve or casing D, and that portion of the shaft designed to beinclosed is treated to a coating of asphaltum IOO in order to provideagainst the-material contacting with the surface thereof.

Within the receiving vessel is arranged a series of what I termbreaking-arms D', which arms extend from side to side of the receivingvessel crosswise of each other and are firmly united thereto by thescrews or bolts d2. These arms are made of wood and when in place extendthe entire length of the vessel, each being located an equidistanceapart. These arms embrace the sleeve or casing D of the drive-shaft, assaid arms are arranged crosswise of each other. Each arm stands atanincline to the other and are thus arranged so as not to retard themovement of the material being treated within the rotating vessel.

In one face of the vessel A is formed a feedopening d, which is closedby the plug-cover E. This cover when the feed-opening is closed is helddown by the lock-bar E', which at one end is hinged to the ears e and atthe opposite end secured between the ears c' by the removable pin e2.The cover is firmly forced to its seat by `inserting wedges f betweenthe lock-bar E and upper face of the said cover.

In the side of the vessel A opposite to that containing the feed-openingis formed the outlet-openingf, which in the present case is closed bymeans of a removable plug E2. This discharge-opening may be located atany suitable point, although I prefer to place the same near one end ofthe receiver.

The operation of the amalgamator is as follows: The material to betreated is run into the receiver or vessel A and sufficient quantity ofquicksilver added thereto to properly amalgamate the metal containedwithin the pulp, slime, or tailings, the amount of quicksilverintroduced being proportionate to the material to be worked. Thefeed-opening is then closed and the cover securely locked in place,after which the drive-belt is shifted tov the fast pulley B', so as torotate the auxiliary shaft A4,which has its motion transmitted todrive-shaft B through the medium of gear and pinion A2 A3. As this shaftis secured within the hubs ol of the end plates C2, which plates in turnare bolted to the vessel or receiver A', the rotary motion of the shaftwill beimparted to the vessel or receiver A. Consequently the saidreceiver or vessel, shaft, and end plates will revolve as an entirestructure. Now inasmuch as the rotatable receiverl or vessel Al is aflat-sided one it is obvious that as it isV rotated the material placedtherein for treatment will be raised or elevated to a given height andthen dropped downwardtowardthebottom. Thiscontinued raising and droppingof the material is required to thoroughlyseparate the pulp, which asthrown downward strikes against the inclined arms D and the quieksilveris thus broken and liberated. As the quicksilver is thoroughly scatteredit picks up the small particles of gold liberated and collects the samein the form of amalgam. These arms are fixed to the inner Walls of thereceiver or vessel A', and consequently are carried around with therotary movement of the same. The pulp or qnicksilver is thus preventedfrom lodging between the arms, and as the arms are carried around theyserve to break up or disintegrate, so to speak,the material beingtreated. As the receiver or vessel is rotated the material is turnedover and over again, and by being thrown against the arms D' the entiremass is broken and separated. This continued agitation of the materialis maintained for from three to ve hours, which is ample time for thetreatment of about fifteen hundred pounds of material, the vessel orreceiver being about ve and one-half feet long by about three feet wide.vDuring this time the material within the vessel or receiver will havebeen stirred, separated, and turned over and the quicksilver have hadample time to thoroughly work through the entire mass of pulp, slime, ortailing, so as to pick up and collect together the small particles ofgold separated from the worked material. The material after having beenthus treated is removed from Within the vessel or receiver by openingthe outlet-opening f', through which the material escapes. The collectedgold escaping from the vessel or receiver in the form of amalgam is thentreated in the usual manner to separate the gold.

Practical working of the present machine has demonstrated the fact thatI am enabled to treat the tailings, slime, or pulp after it has passedover the ordinary collecting-blankets, as before mentioned, and recovergold therefrom which is so ne and light as to be carried over theblanket.

The machine at the present time is being practically and successfullyworked in the recovery of this fine grade of gold, and by its use I amenabled to save that which hereto.-

IOO

IIO

fore has been lost and considered impossible to save.

Inasmuch as a cylindrical vessel or receiver cannot be employed for thereason that it will not raise the material, as desired, it is essentialto the success of the machine that a flatsided vessel or receiver beemployed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire tosecure protection in by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an amalgamator for the treatmentof pulp, slime or tailings, thecombination with a closed receiver or vessel for the material to betreated having flatinterior sides, of a driveshaft extendingtherethrough and to which the same is rigidly secured, a frame withinwhich the shaft is mounted, means for im-l parting rotary motion to theshaft and receiver or vessel, and of a series of breakingarms arrangedwithin the vreceiver or vessel and s ecurely attached to the sidesthereof.

2. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, thecombination with a closed receiver or vessel for the material to IIS betreated, and having interior longitudinal surfaces arranged at an angle,of a drive-shaft extending therethrough and to which the same issecured, means for imparting rotary motion to the shaft so as to rotatethe receiver or vessel, a sleeve inclosing that portion of thedrive-shaft Within the receiver or vessel, a series of breaking-armsarranged Within said receiver or vessel and secured so as to rotatetherewith, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other, and ofthe end plates secured to the ends of the receiver or vessel outside ofits heads or end.

3. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, thecombination With a closed receiver or vessel for the material to betreated polygonal in cross-section, of a feedopening therein, a coverfor said opening, a drive-shaft extending through said receiver orvessel and to which the same is secured, means for imparting rotarymotion to the shaft so as to rotate the receiver or vessel, a coveringfor that portion of the shaft Within the receiver or vessel, a series ofbreaking-arms arranged therein so as to rotate With the shaft andreceiver or vessel, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other,end plates secured to the receiver or vessel outside of its heads orends, each plate being formed With a bearing-hub Within which thedrive-shaft is secured, and of an outlet for the treated material.

4E. In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, thecombination with a suitable frame, of a receiver or vessel polygonal incross-section suspended therein, a feed-opening Within the receiver orvessel and a cover therefor, means for imparting rotary motion tosaid'vessel, a series of breakingarms arranged therein so as to rotatetherewith, said arms being arranged at an angle to each other and eachextending entirely across the vessel, and of the outlet lfor the treatedmaterial.

In an amalgamator for the treatment of pulp, slime or tailings, thecombination of a receiver or vessel polygonal in cross-section, meansfor rotatably supporting said receiver, means for rotating the same, aplurality of breakin g-arms Within the receiver secured to and extendingacross the same, said arms being inclined relative to the axis ofrotation of the receiver, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of tWo Witnesses,this 3d day of April, 1899.

JOHN L. BRADBURY.

Vitnesses N. A. ACKER, WALTER F. VANE.

